Homebrew
We focus on creating flavorful beers that are gluten-free for her and sugar-free for him. This means no barley, rye, wheat, cane sugar, corn syrup, or HFCS. Each batch is a chance to experiment and it has worked out great so far! Brewmaster's Notes Roasting See homebrewtalk for details *'Buckwheat Groats : '''30 min @ 350 F : Malted rice flavor (like "rice crispy milk"), let air out *'Millet : 15 min @ 350 F : Slight popcorn taste *'Oat Groats : '''15 min @ 350 F for Oaty / earthy, bubbles, 45 min for more bite (but less bubbles) *'Quinoa : '15 min @ 350 F for mild peanut taste (let air out) or 30 min for stronger flavor *'Oats : *'Walnuts' : Color Head Retention Add research notes for getting a full head in a GF brew Mouthfeel Add research notes for getting a good mouthfeel in a GF brew Interesting Ideas *Pecan, pistachio, sunflower seed or pumpkin seed (can impare head retention) *Sweet potato thread and 1920s article on making sweet potato syrup or juice, another thread *Bananas to increase head retention? (yes) *Spicy peppers - use in boil for flavor or fermenter for kick *Red yeast rice for natural amylase and sake flavor *Priming with honey may give more of the effervescent carbonation *Rinse grains and crush before roasting *Use gelatin to help clear the beer *Buckwheat for a dark color, *Use jelly/jam for fruit contribution *Alternatives to sorghum syrup *Rooibos tea for color and to mask the sour sorghum taste *Add sorghum at 20min or less to avoid sour taste References *HomeBrewTalk's GF forum *HomeBrewTalk's Ingredient forum (not necessarily GF) *Slampbrew's GF Beer page *Apellation Beer's tasting terms by category (malt, hop/bitter, yeast fermentation, carbonation, body/mouthfeel, alcohol) *Even more terms (with descriptions) *Calculator for how much priming sugar to use for different sugars *Good hop combinations *Instructions and color guide for malting red quinoa, white quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and amaranth *Bulk seller : Honey and extracts in 5 gal buckets and bigger *Beer styles by IBU range Blogroll Brewing blogs I've come across *http://beyondbarley.blogspot.com/ (GF) *http://gfhomebrewing.blogspot.com/ (GF) *http://gfthirstyengineer.blogspot.com (GF, not all beer) *http://www.themadfermentationist.com/ *http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/ *http://appellationbeer.com *http://www.brewbybrew.com/ *http://atomicdonkeybrewing.blogspot.com/ (has some notes on growing hops) Beers Batch 1 : Orange Honey Ale In May 2011, we brewed our first batch of gluten free beer - 5 gal - orange honey ale (click for details). After sharing this brew with several family and friends, they all agreed it was excellent. It turned out a lot like AB's Shock Top. Hops: German Perle (bittering), Mt Hood (finishing) Fermentables: Briess sorghum extract, honey Other: Lemon juice, sweet orange peel Comments Starting gravity was 1.56. Final gravity was 1.12. Final alcohol content was slightly strong at 5.8%. *Clean finish *Crisp, refreshing taste *Pleasant citrus and orange notes *Good color *Strong carbonation Batch 2 : Hoppy Thanksgiving In November 2011, we brewed our second batch of gluten free beer - 5 gal - Hoppy Thanksgiving, a Blue Moon clone (click for details). While our initial goal was a pumpkin pie ale (pumpkin pie in a bottle), the pumpkin flavor didn't come through as we expected - although it's still a great brew! After sharing this brew with several family and friends, they all agreed it was excellent. It turned out a lot like Blue Moon. Hops: German Perle (bitter), Centennial (bitter+finishing) Fermentables: Briess white sorghum extract, oats, molasses, dextrose, honey Other: pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie filling, pumpkin spice, ground ginger, cinnamon stick, vanilla Comments Starting gravity was 1.58. Final gravity was 1.12. Final alcohol content was slightly strong at 6.1%. Approximate IBU: 10.11 *Very hoppy (hence the name Hoppy Thanksgiving) *Good carbonation (just enough priming sugar) *Light color, opaque *Nice cinnamon notes *Good mouth feel *Filtering to help reduce sediment+ + During bottling, we found it was difficult to separate out the pumpkin puree. As such, we jury rigged a device to help filter out large chunks. We simply cut a water bottle in half and lined it with cheese cloth, filtering before putting in the bottles. When the cheese cloth clogged, we replaced it with more. Even with this "ghetto" filtering step, we lost a lot of good brew to the bucket. Batch 3 : Chocolate Vanilla Porter In May 2012, we brewed our third batch of gluten free beer - 5 gal - chocolate vanilla ale. (click for details). While our initial goal was a vanilla ale, the vanilla didn't come through as we expected - although it's still a great brew! After sharing this brew with several family and friends, they all agreed it was excellent. Hops: Northern Brewer (bitter), Hallertau (finishing) Fermentables: Briess white sorghum extract, oats, molasses, dextrose Other: anise pods, walnuts, cocoa powder, coffee, vanilla extract, vanilla bean Comments *Bourbon, but spicy aroma *Inadequate carbonation (could use a bit more priming sugar) *Amber color, opaque *Nice vanilla notes *Good mouth feel *Chocolatey mouth feel *Coffee undertones with a hint of nuttiness and oats WAIT a total of 4 weeks after bottling before drinking. It brings out more of the vanilla/chocolate tones than drinking it at 2 weeks post bottling. Batch 4 : Blueberry Moon Next batch will be going for the Blue Moon clone, but with some blueberry/earthy flavors *recipe to tweak (may need a change of hops?) *1 lb for a 2.5 gallon batch (link) *blanch the berries to avoid contamination (link) *Add fruit to fermenter to keep flavors intact (link)